


The Result of a Migraine Isn't So Bad

by PenguinKiwis



Series: In Where Plo's Sticker Habits Save More Than Morale [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Headaches & Migraines, Kel Dor are Funky, Kit Fisto being Kit Fisto, M/M, Mace Windu is So Done, Plo Koon Cares, Sort Of, just a little bit though, mentioned other Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:01:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29069985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenguinKiwis/pseuds/PenguinKiwis
Summary: Mace Windu has a Migraine and Paperwork to be done. Why he thought it would go unnoticed, he doesn't know.
Relationships: (meantioned), Kit Fisto & Mace Windu, Kit Fisto/Plo Koon, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Plo Koon & Mace Windu
Series: In Where Plo's Sticker Habits Save More Than Morale [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128161
Comments: 6
Kudos: 94





	The Result of a Migraine Isn't So Bad

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to update whenever I finish a chapter instead of waiting for a certain day to upload. So basically, irregular updates forever.

Mace Windu's head _hurt_.

Like a pounding, never-ending pain type of hurt. Paired with blurry vision, ringing ears, and every single noise caused another wave of pain to shoot through his skull. And on a planet as busy as Coruscant, there was a lot of noise. Not as much as there would have been if he had been several levels lower and not at the Temple, but it was still loud.

Ponds, force be good on his soul, he knew was sitting quietly outside the door to his office with Snap and Jet not too far. If he looked closer and through the crack in the door, he could see the worn sabacc cards that the two were playing with— they weren't playing sabacc, though, the two were being far too quiet for that. Perhaps Go-Opee.

Either way, the three clones were stationed outside of his office for… various reasons. Which were not to dissuade anyone from walking into his office.

Because he certainly was not holed up in it to escape the chaos of being the head Jedi on the Council.

And he certainly hasn't been hiding from Grandmaster Yoda and Kit Fisto in the meanwhile— both of them had a habit of bothering him when they were bored. That is, if Kit wasn't bothering Plo Koon (mind you, this bothering was less bothering and more or less attempting to get in the other's robes) or asking Agen Kolar for a duel.

Or asking Saesee Tiin for a duel. Or Ki-Adi Mundi for a duel. Or Depa for a duel. Or Plo Koon for a duel after bothering him. Or—

Well, Kit tended to like to ask people for duels. Except for Obi-Wan and Luminara. But everyone knew that Kit's way of meditating was through movement, and that meant sparing and dueling when he was able to, even if it was bothering others.

Mace knew that.

He also knew that no one but Plo Koon had the guts to face Shaak Ti off in a full out duel. And he knows that Kit and Obi-Wan oh-so unprofessionally referred to that duel as "the parents fighting" and that Ki-Adi had agreed and said something about "hoping his arguments with his wives don't end up that vicious". Because behind her calm and collected mask lay a fearsome predator in Shaak Ti. Despite her station off of the frontlines, she was no slouch when it came down to it. Furthermore, Plo Koon was a seasoned master when it came to both the Force and saber-skills. A downright monster if he chose to be, but the Kel Dor remained calm and collected. The duel that they had all witnessed had Kit challenging both of them, more than eager to test his own skills against the two.

( Mace never doubted the rumor that Plo Koon had bested Master Yoda in a duel after that. )

Another thing that Mace Windu knew about his fellow Council Members was that Kit Fisto, along with not even bothering to hide his enthusiasm for duels, just won't bother with being subtle when it comes to flirting. Oh for sure, flirting had its uses and Mace didn't bat an eye when it was done in front of him— for the gods' sake, Obi-Wan Kenobi uses flirting as a negotiation tactic— but when it came to Fisto?

It was so blatantly obvious there was no reason for it other than to either throw off his target— in regular conversation!— or to _actually making an attempt to woo another._ And Mace Windu found he didn't care. Because his usual target, a certain Kel Dor, either also didn't care or notice— _or_ he was somehow staying on the side of the Light while returning the Nautolan's affections in a more subtle manner.

Which hardly mattered at this point to Mace because what did matter was that his _kriffing_ migraine would not go away. And a migraine wouldn't be able to help him with completing the paperwork he needed to do.

Grumbling lowly under his breath, the Korun Jedi lifted his head and squinted at the stacks of paperwork in front of him. Not to mention all the bantha-shit that was to be sent through holo.

Damage reports, medical reports, reports from Kamino, Various Jedi Reports, requests for more rations and medical supplies to get sent to the front lines, initiate reports, Shaak Ti's reports on how Kamino _sucks,_ and really, they should do something about how the Kaminoans were treating the clones, not to mention the god _damn_ Senate reports.

There were also the Skywalker Reports which were just extensive damage reports half the time.

Mace sighed silently, rubbing his temples with one hand as he shuffled the papers a bit. He really didn't have the mind to do his work right now, but if he put it off for later, he knew he would only end up with a more painful migraine in the long run— stress-induced, of course.

And of course, he could easily just skip the reading and just start signing off on the work, but there was more than likely to be some sort of fine print on every single page that could put the Order at great risk— such as the one time the Senate attempted to slip in a clause to exert full control over the Jedi Order.

Mace had brought that said document to the Council and the next day it had been delivered to the Chancellor's desk with a firm reminder that the Jedi Order was acting as an army to the Republic, but _they were not the Senate's to control._ The Jedi were the allies to the Republic and Senate, but they were not theirs.

Just thinking about it brought another wave of irritation and pain through Mace's head as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose— if only to attempt to release some of the pressure behind his eyes.

Still, at the moment, his choice was either to do all the Force be damned paperwork that he had now and pray to it that he was reading and comprehending everything correctly, or wait and suffer through it later on top of the other stacks of work that were bound to show up by the time the four moons rose.

Which meant that there was no _real_ choice then.

As the Korun Jedi moved to begin his work, a sudden ripple in the force made him groan. He knew those two signatures coming down the hall— who in the council wouldn't when they pushed and pulled before blending together so perfectly when together.

There was no real way to describe how the Force signatures of each individual in simple words. The closer one was to another, the closer their trust was to another, the more of their signature they understood. And for Mace, this was the case for those on the Council.

Attachment was forbidden, yes, but trust was not. And he _trusted_ everyone on the Council— and in return, they trusted him.

Though now that he was thinking on it, there was a certain Jedi that he was certain _wasn't_ following the Code— who wasn't Anakin, that is. Everyone and their mother knew that Anakin was in love with Padmé Amidala. Some tried to dissuade him from it, at this point Mace was just giving him grief over it until the boy realized he couldn't be subtle if he tried.

No, the Jedi in question who was using the Code as more of a... _guided suggestion_ was one of the two walking down the hall.

It was interesting though, how Kit ignored the attachment rule and also kept himself from falling. He knew, because his Force signature was still radiated the light.

Though light it might be, Kit's signature was wild, unpredictable, and not too unlike Quinlan Vos' own signature. But the difference was that while Quinlan's was wild in a way that matched with his habit of leaping from high places, Kit's signature was wild and unpredictable in the same way that the sea was. And under the wild breaking of the waves, there was calm and peace, a soothing feeling that most Jedi who weren't outwardly serene held.

Plo Koon, however, was very different than their Nautolan colleague. On the surface, Plo Koon's force signature was gentle and warm, calm and patient— very reflective of the man's own personality, he could stand and sit perfectly still for hours on end in perfect calm. But there was something more, simmering under the surface, waiting to explode outwards. The crackle of golden lightning, the biting winds of Doin.

It was simple, if Kit was the storm at sea constantly throwing off those who tried to predict him, then Plo Koon was the calm before. A man who could wait out and weather any storm.

It came as no surprise to Mace that his long-time friend would be able to balance out the storm that was the younger Nautolan Master.

Of course, that also meant that the two of them caused trouble without realizing it when they were together— or they did, Kit could be stirring up trouble and Plo just lets it happen.

So that was why Mace feared the worst when Ponds, Snap, and Jet scrambled to attention when two sets of footsteps stopped outside the door. There was some muffled conversation before the door was gently pushed open and Plo Koon stepped in. The door was closed just as gently and Mace raised a brow as his long time friend and fellow Council Member crossed the office and over to him.

"Both Master Fisto and Commander Ponds have alerted me to the fact that you might be suffering from a stress-induced migraine, my friend," Plo Koon said, circling around his desk and stopping at his side as the Korun man huffed a bit from his nose.

"And of no thanks to the said Master out int the hall," he drawled and Plo Koon's rumbling chuckles reached his ears and, _kriff,_ that was nice, the noise somehow lessening the pressure in his skull. In general, Kel Dor were interesting in regard to the noises that they could make. In addition to the clicking, whistling, and warbling that was unique to their species that could be heard on varying frequencies of sound, their true voices remained unheard outside of Dorin's atmosphere, and most all knew that to intrude on a Kel Dor Jedi's living quarters and anti-ox chambers without an invite was seen as quite rude. Even with their masks, if they chose to, they could speak across sound waves too low or too high for other sentients to be able to hear.

( Or maybe it was just humans. Shaak Ti certainly twitched every so often when Plo Koon was around. Though that could be a Force thing if Mace really put thought to it, Kel Dor could speak telepathically too. )

Maybe it was those reverberations that were doing it. Sound waves he couldn't pick up but his body recognized as something that could help.

"We both know how Kit can be," Plo responded in return, reaching over and picking up a few papers. "But stress will get you nowhere when you have a migraine, my friend."

He raised a brow, squinting a bit. "And what, this paperwork will magically get done?"

"Well, not magically," Plo Koon agreed, flipping through a few sheets. "But it will get done. Head of the Jedi Council and Order I might not be, but a long life I have lived alongside the Order. I might prefer not to get involved in politics, but I know the red duratape lines when I see them. Besides, your filing and organization system isn't difficult, Mace, and neither is your signature to forge."

"Please don't tell me you've tried before, Plo Koon," he sighed and the Kel Dor only let out another one of those reverberating hums.

"Someone had to make sure little 'soka got the nutrition she needed on the front lines," was all he said before pausing. "We're lucky that Shaak Ti is stationed in Kamino unless needed elsewhere. Whoever decided that only ration bars were to be sent to the front would be gut like a fish. Though it is best we don't give names, she might board the next ship over."

Mace didn't doubt that.

Togruta were carnivores. They tore into meat and flesh with sharp teeth like it was nothing more than paper. Even if Shaak and Ahsoka were not as brutal as their ancestors had once been, the fact remained that their bodies needed as much protein as their ancestors once did. And even if, over time, Togrutas managed to evolve to ingest plant-based foods, the statement still stood— the calories and proteins from plant-based food would simply not be enough in the long run.

He, himself, had been mildly irate when the motion to start sending ration bars to the frontlines in lieu of real rations, real food, was made. Economically it made sense, and perhaps for the clones it did too (even if Snap did grumble about how tasteless they were), but for the Jedi out on the front?

Certainly, a number of them were omnivorous or ate plant-based food— or ate anything blended up and then dumped into a cup because Plo Koon couldn't tear into or chew anything should he wish to take a meal with anyone else— but the carnivores?

That was why Kit was often sent to oceanic and water-based planets whenever possible— to let him hunt, let him eat properly when the mission was done.

That was why Shaak Ti was more than pleased to be on Kamino— both to protect the Clones from being turned into lab rats and because Togruta could hunt in the water just as well as on land.

But it was because they were on the Council that this was possible for them. Kit had a company of Clones in the form of the 272nd, but Monnk and his Company were mainly Aquatic Troopers, they went into the water with him. And Shaak Ti was stationary for all intents and purposes. And even among the Council, it wasn't as easy as that and it certainly wasn't for the others in the Order. Padawans were stationed where their masters were needed and other Knights and Masters simply didn't have enough leeway with companies, battalions, or platoons of clones behind them.

And so Mace understood Plo's ire. Ahsoka Tano was, for as much as it went against the Code (that apparently the Kel Dor ignored, but Mace knew only the bare basics of the Kel Dor, for all he knew Kel Dor needed familial connections as much as they needed their anti-oxygen masks off-world), the closest thing that Plo Koon had to a daughter. She was still growing as well, she needed all the nutrition she could get should she wish to become as strong as Shaak Ti had been before the war broke out.

("This is a Joint custody over little Ahsoka Tano," Shaak Ti would loftily tease during one of the countless Council dinners before the war got this bad to the point that the Council was broken apart and Shaak was more or less always gone. To the point where Plo and Saesee were usually in space running extraction missions, where Mace was forced to stay off the front lines more often than not in order to command from the back and he hated it, hated watching the Jedi, his _friends_ out on the front lines where they any day could be their last.)

"So that was what Padawan Tano was talking about," Mace chose to say instead of chastising the older Jedi for his attachments. "Aside from when she was a toddler, I don't think she's hugged anyone on the Council like that— except for you and probably Obi-Wan. Girl has a strong grip. Bone crushing."

A happy sort of trill came from the Kel Dor at the sheer _mention_ that Ahsoka had hugged him and he was once again reminded of Plo Koon's wide vocal range. "Yes well, no fear of anything being done incorrectly then," Plo said, scooping up some more papers and a pen.

Mace squinted up at him. "You are _not_ going to do _my_ paperwork for me," he warned and Plo just gave him an amused look from behind his mask.

"Because you will with that migraine of yours, Mace?" he asked, "I could feel how much pain you were in from the moment we got to your hall."

"And you thought bringing _Kit Fisto_ with you would help?"

The dig wasn't really filled with any venom behind it, it wasn't as if Plo was one to drag anyone around with him if he went somewhere. And there wasn't really any secret that Kit was the most likely to cause trouble in the Council outside of Obi-Wan. It was just a routine and friendly jab at Kit and Mace's conflicting personalities. At the unlikely friendship between them.

And of course, Plo Koon just laughed again. "Perhaps."

There was a thump outside and startled laughs from Jet and Kit before Snap and Ponds hushed them both. Mace's lips twitched upwards into a slight smile at that before he turned back to Plo.

"And there's nothing to dissuade you from doing this?" he asked him with a slight sigh.

"Not at all," the other Jedi said and sounded all too happy about it. Mace grumbled a bit but lowered his head, shooting the smug Kel Dor a glare.

"You better wake me in an hour, you old man."

"I make no promises, my friend," the Jedi hummed, already settled down on the floor, back against Mace's desk and papers against his knees as he read.

The Korun Jedi just grumbled but knew better than to argue with the so-called Father of the Council. Instead, he brought his arms up and rested his head on them atop the desk. Before he closed his eyes he saw Plo Koon move, waving a hand with a gentle click and a soft noise that was almost too low for him to hear. The lights dimmed to lower than fifty percent and the windows dimmed entirely.

Before he closed his eyes he saw the door open just a bit and both Kit and Ponds peer in before Plo waved them off.

"You better not put any stickers on those reports," he grumbled as he closed his eyes.

Mace only got an amused round of clicks back before a low hum began to ease the pressure behind his eyes again. He settled down, allowing the sleep he needed to overtake him.

It was more than an hour later when Mace woke up and he was no longer in his office, but had been dumped rather unceremoniously in his bed in his own quarters. The Chrono on his bedside table reads a bright 0600 and he grumbled a bit, might've cursed Plo once or twice as he climbed to his feet and changed into a fresh set of robes.

He had slept the entire afternoon and night away, it seemed, and it was about the same time he would wake up the next day.

As he stepped out into the common area of his living quarters, a neat stack of paperwork sat on the low table before the sofa. Slowly, Mace approached and blinked a bit, rubbing his eyes and blinking the sleep away again.

On the very top of the papers was a mostly blank sheet with a note scrawled out in Plo Koon's neat, albeit jagged, script.

Under it came the messy scribbles in the form of Kit's own handwriting.

_Finished all the paperwork with several hours to spare. Did everything else that piled up from the night reports too. Double-check to make sure everything is in order._

_— Plo_

_I did the Holo reports because Plo's too slow can't hold your stylus with his talon guards on. Praise me._

_— Kit (your favorite amphibian)_

Mace snorted at Kit's note, knowing full well that Kit had gotten bored of waiting and probably just went ahead of Plo and did the datapad work. All the styluses were made the same for the most part, and he knew that Plo's wasn't any different than his own.

Still, the notes left a warm feeling in his chest and he let out a chuckle upon seeing what was stuck to the paper.

"That man and his stickers," Mace said to himself as he set the note to the side and started flipping through the paperwork once he turned the lights on all the way.

At least he didn't put any on the official documents.

**Author's Note:**

> Now do the Jedi have offices? I have no idea. But they need somewhere to do their paperwork. and by they I mean mace.
> 
> I recognize that technically the talk about Plo slipping Kit a sticker during council meetings wouldn't be right (Plo sits right next to the door and Kit sits directly across from him in the council room with Mace next to Plo and Saesee like two to the left of Kit) but like. Force shenanigans. So like whatever.
> 
> Go-Opee is a made-up game since I couldn't find the equivalent of Go-Fish. The Oppe comes from the Opee Sea Killer
> 
> Anyways, imo Kit is certainly the type to ask every Jedi on the council for a duel or just to bother them in general. Ofc Luminara isn't on the council, but Kit bothers her anyway because he can. I think the general headcanon is that Kit and Luminara are close in age with Kenobi and Bant.
> 
> Further Notes:
> 
> Since this is a Nothing Hurts And Everything Is Beautiful type of AU (lmao get ready for angst anyways because that's just how I roll), Mace just. Doesn't care about the no attachments code. Mans is too tired because The Senate Sucks Let The Jedi Sleep Please They Need It (Or you could take this as "Kit's fucking strong and Plo's fucking strong and we need them in the Jedi still so we'll let it slide so long as the two of them don't put others in danger because of their love for each other" sort of situation).
> 
> On the topic of sound healing migraines or at least lessening the pressure of them, this is called sound therapy. I'm not sure the exact range on the sound wave scale this hits, since I've never had to use it, but I don't technically think it would be out of our hearing range. But on that note star wars is literally a different world from us and who knows what secrets the Kel Dor have. So bam, Kel Dor sound therapy for migraines.
> 
> Also, Kel Dor making clicking and trilling noises when words fail and they don't want to send them into the force in order to display emotions? Yes sir. Just happy lil noises. Like birds. But birds that can and will yeet you with the force. Though anger and anguish will also be displayed through varying clicks. We'll get to that one later.


End file.
